The Sealing Art
by Boby335
Summary: The Art of Sealing is well known for it's many applications. from stopping rampaging Bijuu to cutting off one's Chakra completely. For Naruto Uzumaki it would prove an invaluable tool.
1. Chapter 1

I've decided to write a Naruto to sate my thirst for curiosity. This will start during the Chunin Exams and begin to differ during that time. This won't get updated quite as often because of my other fanfic, Cell's Shadow. The fact of the matter is that I have been trying to find more adventure fics for Naruto, but I've been coming up short.

Anyways since I really like the idea of Naruto learning Sealing Jutsu I'll have him doing that along with Summoning and maybe a few Elemental Jutsu's thrown in, maybe five at the most. I don't want him to be super powerful or Godlike at all. What good is a story where the main character is the strongest and there is no struggle to learn or gain his talents. That's my opinion anyways.

Onto the pairing, Naruto and Hinata. That is what the pairing is in this fic and it won't change. Now this won't come into effect until after the Timeskip simply because I just don't see thirteen year olds having a romantic relationship.

Finally I will be putting Sasuke as a villain in because he simply makes the ultimate villain for Naruto. I know some people will claim this is bashing for putting him as the villain, but to tell you the truth it fits. Think of it; they used to be friends and were alone growing up. Yin and Yang, Vash the Stampede and Knives Millions, Spike Spiegal and Vicious, Strawhat Luffy and Blackbeard Teach, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Hashirama and Madara; it fits so perfectly that it's almost like looking at a two pieced puzzle.

Also I know it seems that I'm doing some Kakashi Bashing, but I'm doing this part to go into his and Naruto's relationship.

Naruto is OCC in a way and this is an AU.

Act I: Chunin Exams

Chapter 1: Release.

Naruto was busy lying in his bed going over the events that had just occurred. From facing that freak in the Forest of Death to challenging Neji Hyuuga; it all played back in his head. There was one thing, though; he had just been blown off by his Sensei, Kakashi Hatake, and was left with a substitute teacher for the thirty day training period for the finals of the Chunin Exams.

He stewed in his anger and jealousy over what had just occurred. Why? Why was it always Sasuke Uchiha? The girl he had a crush on liked him, his sensei preferred him, but what he couldn't figure out is why? He moved from his bed to look out into the night from window to see a vicious thunderstorm brewing, "It doesn't matter anyways…" He said softly, not realizing that the man Kakashi had asked to teach Naruto was in the dark corner of the room watching him.

The man was tall and skinny with sunglasses covering his eyes while a black bandana covered his head. This man was named Ebisu and this wasn't his first run in with the boy known as Naruto Uzumaki. Earlier in the year he had met with him when his student, Konohamaru Sarutobi, had been following the older boy and pestering Naruto to teach him his special, 'Hokage Killer.' Ebisu was in the opinion that Naruto was a demon child. Like most of the other adults in Konoha that was all he saw until Konohamaru began to earnestly work hard to become a Shinobi.

Now he knew why the normally jubilant youth was depressed, but knew it wouldn't last. He started walking towards Naruto with an almost epithetical look covering his face. He still thought he was a brat, but he had seen that look on so many other Genin when something like this happened, "You know Naruto, one should always be aware of one's surroundings. It _is_ an integral part of our chosen profession." Startled Naruto turned to see Ebisu, who he had dubbed as the closet perv, right behind him.

"Oh, it's just you." The melancholic feel coming from the boy was spreading like an infection to Ebisu.

"I think… I think all I can say to this is tough break, kid." Ebisu went to a chair near his position and sat down, "I also think I can get you out that depressed state!" He said excitedly, "Sleep tonight then meet me near the hot springs for your training at nine in the morning. With a puff of smoke Ebisu was gone leaving Naruto feeling a little better. At least someone was willing to teach him.

Naruto quickly decided to go get dinner before going to sleep. He opened up the window, hopped out, and went into a dead run towards Ichiraku's.

-Konoha Gravestone-

Kakashi sat looking at the gravestone with a haggard look. He was tired from thinking on his decision to teach Sasuke over Naruto, "Did I do the right thing Minato-Sensei?" He looked down from the gravestone to the ground. He had never wanted to get close to Naruto in the first place, but it had happened. The kid had always reminded him of his dead sensei, but it also reminded him that he had failed. Failed at saving his sensei, failed at saving Obito, failed at saving Rin. For all the good he had done for Konoha he had done worse by his dead comrades.

"_He was my son, Kakashi! Where were you when he needed you_?" He heard his Sensei's voice in his head, "_Do I mean so little to you_?" The storm clouds above slowly released the rain it was holding.

"He just…" Kakashi paused. He didn't know what he could say to make anything better.

Naruto also reminded him of Obito in his strive to become Hokage, "_I knew you hated me, Kakashi, but do you hate me so much that you can't even stand anyone that's similar to me too_?"

Kakashi felt the rain on top of his head, "But… Sasuke's an Uchiha… I owe you Obito…"

"_So what? Naruto's an Uzumaki_." He heard the voice of Rin.

"_So much for not abandoning your comrades Kakashi. Truly a disappointment you've become_." He finally heard the voice of his father.

"I did the right thing." He almost whispered, "All of you are dead; I made the right decision. Sasuke's facing a Jinchuriki; he needs all the help he can get!" Kakashi yelled defiantly at the gravestone, "Naruto always does better alone anyways! IT'S NOT LIKE HE ISN'T YOUR SON SENSEI!"

"_**Trash**_." All four voices repeated in his head over and over. Kakashi got up from where he was sitting then walked off slowly towards where he was training Sasuke.

-Konoha Hot Springs-

An older man with long white hair sat on top of a large toad with a blush covering his face. He wrote in his notebook until he noticed the rain, "No don't go in!" He whispered loudly as all the women rushed inside out of the rain. With a sigh he got off the toad, which disappeared into a puff of smoke, and walked off down the road to a small ramen shop that was still open. He sat down and saw a young teenager serving a couple bowls full of Miso Ramen to young blonde boy with an angry atmosphere.

"May I help you, sir?" The young girl asked politely.

"Pork Ramen." The man simply ordered then went back to looking at the boy. He looked like someone he knew, but couldn't put his finger on which person it was that the kid looked like, "Why so mad, brat?"

The boy looked up from the ramen he was slurping down to see the face of Naruto Uzumaki, "My damn, _Sensei,_ left me to teach my teammate for the finals! Damn him and Sasuke!" Naruto had moved on from being depressed to angry in a short time after his meeting with Ebisu. If Kakashi wasn't willing to teach him then he would show him what happens when you ignore Naruto Uzumaki! He got a hit on the head from the older man next to him.

"So noisy!" The man complained. Naruto punched him back, but his punch was caught, "DUMBASS! You can't just go punching every upstanding gentleman you see!" How dare this impudent, little brat try to punch him. Did he even know who he was?

Naruto was beginning to get annoyed, "THEN SHOW ME ONE THEN!" The two were glaring at each now.

Ayame Teuchi was always kind to the customers, especially Naruto, but right now he wanted to wring his scrawny neck along with the older man's. Her father looked out from the kitchen to see that Naruto and the older man were now about to come to blows. He rushed out and yelled, "NARUTO! IF YOU'RE GOING TO FIGHT DO IT SOMEWHERE ELSE!" The older man smirked and hmphed, but Teuchi pointed his finger at him, "AND YOU! GET OUT!"

The older man grumbled and left, but was soon followed by the blonde boy. The storm had cleared up, but the vestiges of the rain were visible everywhere. He went a couple blocks then stopped completely. He turned to the kid with a questioning glare, "What do _you _want?" The older man was beginning to act more childish then the twelve year old.

"You owe me dinner, old man!" The old man and young boy stopped completely.

"Old man?" He asked simply, "Do you not know who _I_ am?" Naruto thought for a second then shook his head no. The older man simply started what looked like a Kabuki style dance, "I am the conqueror of women and the holy sage of Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya the Toad Sannin!" Jiraiya stopped with a cocky grin.

"OH!" Naruto was astounded, to say the least.

"So you _do_ know who I am!" Jiraiya knew there was no one in Konoha that didn't know his name and visage. It was inconceivable that there was no one in Konoha that didn't know him.

"Not a clue, old man!" Naruto began laughing when Jiraiya fell down on the ground from shock. How dare this brat make a fool of him!

"Well then, brat, who are you!?" It was Naruto's turn to grin at the Sannin.

Naruto mirrored Jiraiya in his Kabuki style dance, "I am the future Hokage of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki!" Jiraiya didn't like the mocking, but recognized the name immediately. This boy was Minato's boy, his godson. Jiraiya lost his cocky façade for only a second as he thought about the boy.

"So what are you doing out so late brat?"

Naruto looked up at the older man with an angry look, "My stupid sensei left me with a substitute while _he's_ off teaching my other teammate." Jiraiya didn't look too pleased, but put off his anger, "I mean I need help too! I'm in the finals too!" The boy went from angry to grim, "What's so important that I had to be left alone?"

"Let me guess, this Sasuke is a genius?" Naruto nodded slightly, but still had on a frown. Jiraiya didn't like so he punched him upside the head, "Stop pouting!" With a loud ouch Naruto grabbed his head. He then tried to use his favorite Jutsu, The Shadow Clone Jutsu, but couldn't even mold his Jutsu. The clone came out looking like how his old clones used to look like.

"Damn it!" Naruto simply sat back against one of the walls. This was the one Jutsu he could do better than all others and now it was out of his reach, "Ever since that man lady knocked me out I can't use this Jutsu!" Jiraiya perked up.

He had never heard of a man lady attacking a team in the forest, but this did look suspicious, "Lift up your shirt and mold your chakra." Naruto looked strangely at Jiraiya, but did it anyways revealing a five part seal surrounding another seal.

To know why Naruto had two seals on his stomach we have to go back to the day of his birth. On the night of his birth the creature known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune raged across Konoha after it was forcibly removed from its' previous container by a masked assailant. His father, The Yondaime Hokage, used a forbidden Seal known as The Dead Demon Consuming Seal to summon The Shinigami and sacrificed his life to seal The Kyuubi into his stomach. Ever since then he was known as _That Child_ or _Demon Brat_.

The next seal that was added was The Five Elements Seal that was used to seal one's chakra. It was placed on his body during the second part of The Chunin Exams by the Sannin known as Orochimaru. The vile creature was after Sasuke Uchiha to gain the Sharingan and when Naruto fought back Orochimaru placed the seal on his stomach.

Naruto couldn't even catch his breath when Jiraiya had done the exact same thing as that man lady from the forest. Naruto staggered back, but something was feeling better. He felt like he could use his Chakra again. Jiraiya just looked down at the boy, '_I wonder how tomorrow will be?_' Jiraiya asked himself as he knocked out Naruto then slung him over his shoulder.

-Hokage's Office-

Hiruzen Sarutobi had seen many, many things throughout his long lifetime that he would consider dramatic and even miraculous, but there was one person that always made drama and miracles real; Naruto Uzumaki. The boy had always made him feel younger and older at the same time, but right now he was simply astounded. He knew that something big was on the verge of occurring, but also knew that Naruto would be a key player, "I just hope he's ready."


	2. Chapter 2

Well here we are with chapter two of The Sealing Art. Thank you those that reviewed, favorite, and followed this story, we have a long ways to go in this story so stick around and get ready for some Jiraiya Time, it's like Adventure Time, but with more perverted things, seals, toads, and instead of Jake the Dog we have Naruto the Genin. Anyways we'll see some training action from Naruto with both Jiraiya and Ebisu so get ready! We'll also get to see one of the reasons I put Shikamaru on the main character list.

I sometimes wonder why people overuse the whole Civilian Council idea. It gets really old after seeing it so many times… forget this author's useless complaints…

Another thing I won't be doing is spamming the Shadow Clone Cheat for training. Simply put when Naruto was creating the Rasenshurikan he was using Shadow Clones and a lot of them fell victim to the Kyuubi. It took Yamato to keep them from going wild.

I do not own Naruto.

Arc I: The Chunin Exams

Chapter 2: Toads!

Everything went black after being knocked out after being knocked out by that old man. The next thing Naruto knew was that the door to his apartment was being knocked on, loudly. He wondered if it was his landlord or maybe it was that old has been from upstairs. He didn't know, he didn't want to know, but he answered the door anyways. Standing in front of him was the old Kabuki dancer from last night, "Good Morning, Naruto!"

Jiraiya was slightly excited to teach the kid a few things today. He was never truly apart of Naruto's life, but had always kept him safe from harm outside of Konoha. Today would be different, though. He would finally take up the mantle of Godfather, albeit secretly, of course, and train his Godson to be a good man and a great Shinobi. Before anymore could be said the tall, lanky Tokubetsu Jonin known as Ebisu, "Jiraiya-sama, what are you doing with Naruto?"

"I was going to train him!" Jiraiya replied with a lot of gusto. Ebisu sighed then scratched his head while thinking.

"What exactly were you going to teach him, anyways?" Jiraiya put on a big goofy smile.

"Seals!" Ebisu should have know, "What were you going to teach him, string bean?" Ebisu pulled out a scroll from his back pocket.

"I was going to teach him water walking and a Water Style Jutsu so he can at least keep his distance from The Hyuuga." Jiraiya nodded at how good of a plan that was. Naruto looked at the two with eyes full of glee, '_Two teachers? Dattebayo!_'

"That's some good reasoning, but if he ends up against that Uchiha this Jutsu will only be copied and used against him." Jiraiya replied with a serious face. Ebisu knew that was true, but he was hoping that that Gaara kid would beat the Uchiha, "Seals, however, can't be copied. They're perfect to use against anyone."

"I have a good idea, Jiraiya-sama," Ebisu paused for a second for dramatic effect, "We'll split his training. I'll get him fifteen days to go by my training plan and fifteen days for yours." Jiraiya thought for a second as he tried to come up with a better plan.

"Why don't we run him into the ground? I'll get started on seals and you can have him in the afternoon to work on water walking until he has it down." The older man stated; the younger man agreed. When they went to turn to their student, but found nothing except a log.

"**THAT BRAT!**" They both yelled in unison.

-Ichiraku Ramen-

While Jiraiya and Ebisu were scheming Naruto had used Kawarimi to get out of the building. He was hungry and really bored! I mean all they were doing was just standing there talking instead of training him. With that in mind he headed to Ichiraku to buy some breakfast. Right now he was on his second serving thinking on what to do, but suddenly he felt a chill. A cold feeling of death was creeping up on his body, giving him goose bumps. He turned his head to the right, then to the left. Nothing. He looked over at two men crossing the street. Everything normal.

"Excuse me?" The blonde Genin heard a voice coming from the counter, and it didn't sound like Ayame or Teuchi. He looked down to see a goggle wearing toad with a leather jacket on, "My name is Gamasuke and I have been sent to retrieve one Naruto Uzumaki. Are you him?" Naruto would have found this funny if the toad wasn't going through a set of hand seals, "Well, are you him?" When Naruto nodded the toad finished with its' last hand seal and with a poof of smoke both the toad and Naruto were gone.

-Training Ground Forty-Five-

Training Ground Forty-Five was next to the Forest of Death and contained a small hot spring. It wasn't overly large, but it wasn't tiny either. Other than the hot spring, it contained a few striking posts, a number of craters made by stray Jutsu, and lots of shrubbery. The training ground was mainly used by Chunin squads practicing up before being sent on border patrols, but today it was barren, except for an old pervert and a Tokubetsu Jonin.

Jiraiya and Ebisu had finally come up with a winning strategy when it came to training their student. They would work on water walking for at least six hours a day then the other five would be spent on seals, once he had down water walking and the basics for seals they would move onto learning Water Style: Gunshot Jutsu and a few seals, and finally the last two weeks would be spent on Naruto focusing on learning to summon toads. If the kid got down anything before the week was out he would move onto the next item on the checklist post-haste. With this in mind the two were finally set to receive their student.

Naruto and the toad known as Gamasuke were now in front of the two elder Shinobi, "Just for running off on us, brat, we decided on your punishment for the day!" Jiraiya got an evil glint in his eyes, "Ebisu will teach you to water walk over near the hot springs! If you fall you'll be boiled alive!" It was a stretch, but hopefully the kid would buy it.

Naruto looked at the serious expression on both his sensei's faces then feared for his life, "R-Really?"

"Yes, really! Now get to practicing your water walking!" Jiraiya scolded the boy, but on the inside laughed at him. He used the Body Flicker Jutsu to disappear in a puff of smoke; his next objective was the women's side of the hot spring back in Konoha.

"Okay, Naruto, you know how to tree climb, don't you?" Ebisu asked when they got to the hot spring.

Naruto just grinned like a maniac, "Of course! Kakashi-Sensei taught it to us back on our first mission!"

"Good because you will need what you learned there to learn this." Ebisu just grinned then set Naruto to the task of learning to water walk.

-Six Hours Later-

After nearly broiling himself to death Naruto still hadn't come up with anything on how to water walk. He felt that he could stand like he did on the side of a tree, but at the same time he couldn't get any footing. It irritated him to no end that in those six hours he couldn't even make one breakthrough, "DAMN THIS WATER!" As he tried again to stand he heard a small ringing.

Jiraiya puffed back into existence in front of Ebisu, "How did it go?"

"Horribly," Naruto fell back into the hot water, "Young Naruto has a grasp on tree walking just fine, but this, well let's just say that this will come slowly to him. Tomorrow I'll give him a few pointers, but now it's your turn." Ebisu disappeared in a puff of smoke much like Jiraiya had done before.

Naruto, meanwhile, was pulling himself out of the hot water yet again. Jiraiya looked at the small boy with a whole lot of glee. He hadn't been this excited since he taught Minato, "Come here Naruto it's time to learn something important!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Naruto called back while he winced at the pain he felt on his skin. He was sure he had, at least, been partially cooked, "So what you going to teach, Kabuki Dancer?" Jiraiya growled at the boy.

"I'm going to teach you about seals." Jiraiya pulled out a piece of paper and began to draw a simple storage seal, "Seals can do anything you can imagine them to do. The only limit is your own mind, Naruto." The air around the two was beginning to change, "From the Five Elements Seal to an explosive tag to a storage seal, and one can fight an entire battle and win with just seals." Jiraiya slowly drew the seal, "They can do so much more than that though." He put the seal face down on the ground then used a hand seal to activate it.

Slowly, but surely the ground was swallowed into the piece of paper. When Jiraiya released the seal all that was left was the piece of paper holding the seal and the small hole where the ground had been, "They can hold _anything_." He hinted towards Naruto's stomach, "What you, Naruto, are going to do is go to the weapon smith, pick up a bunch of this paper, ink, and a quill. Tell them to put it on my tab."

-Streets of Konoha-

As Naruto walked towards his destination he saw someone familiar in the sea of people. Another Genin known as Shikamaru Nara was walking with a grimace on his face. His hands were in his pockets and he was grumbling. As Naruto neared him Shikamaru looked up from the ground to deepen his grimace towards Naruto, "What are you doing, Naruto?"

"Buying paper." Naruto chuckled at the lazy Genin, "How about you?"

"Hiding from my sensei." The two looked at each other then Shikamaru asked, "Lunch?"

"Sure."

-Akimichi Grill-

Naruto had never been one to hang out with people his age, other than his team that is, so this was a new experience, "Naruto there is something I've always wanted to ask." Naruto turned his attention from the meal he was eating, "It's troublesome, but why do you want to become Hokage?"

With a cheerful smile Naruto replied, "So everybody will recognize me. I want to become what the old man is. He walks around and everybody knows him, everybody asks him for advice, everybody looks to him for advice. I want that out of life." Shikamaru began to understand Naruto somewhat.

Before anymore could be said there was a the sight of an old man with white hair hanging off the side of the building looking in through the glass with at Naruto with an angry look.

-end-


	3. Chapter 3

Here we are with chapter three of The Sealing Art and to tell you the truth I'm glad this fic is so well liked. It brings a smile to my face. Anyways this chapter will deal with training, but it will be fast forwarded so we can get to the Chunin Exam Finals next chapter.

To those wondering why Naruto hasn't called Jiraiya by Pervy Sage or Ero-Sannin he hasn't found out that Jiraiya is a pervert, yet.

I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 3: Hell.

The man hanging off the side of The Akimichi Grill was Jiraiya. He looked in at the two Genin, but noticed that Naruto still hadn't noticed him. The other brat had seen him so he signaled him to turn Naruto's attention towards the window. Jiraiya had decided to follow Naruto to make sure that everything went smoothly, but found out he was goofing off with one of his little friends.

Shikamaru looked slightly frightened at the sight, yet followed his orders anyways, "Naruto, there's a weird old man hanging off the building looking at us." Naruto looked over with at the weird Sage. He then got up, walked away from the table, out the door, and to the weapon smith. Shikamaru walked after Naruto with a frown. Who was this old man and how did he know Naruto?

Jiraiya, meanwhile, had gone back to the shadows to follow Naruto. The boy was easily distracted so it never hurt to follow him and make sure that he procured the necessary supplies for his training. The other boy he didn't care for. If he was in the finals it would be the best if he got less training, "Hey, Naruto, wait up!" He heard the boy call out.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" Naruto was nearly to the weapon smith when he was stopped.

"Who was that old guy?" The two continued to walk on down the road. It was a beautiful day in Konoha and many people were outside enjoying the day. As they moved through the crowd Naruto received many glares that he just simply ignored. As for Shikamaru, the boy was extremely annoyed by the blond that he was following.

"Oh! That guy is some Kabuki Dancer that just happens to be a Ninja." Shikamaru's eye twitched, "He's teaching me how to use these things called… called… sores? No that can't be right! Um…" Naruto grabbed his chin for a second, "That's it! Seals!" Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks. A Kabuki Dancer was teaching Naruto in seals. Naruto and Sealing Jutsu just didn't mix in his mind, but now he was curious about the Kabuki Dancer, though.

The more Shikamaru thought about it the more the finals came to mind, "Hey Naruto, when all this Chunin Exam business is over with we'll go watch the clouds sometime." He started walking away from the blonde, but stopped again, "On second thought, Choji, you, and I are going to lunch." Both started walking again, but stopped, "You're buying!"

With that the two walked away from each other. One to finish his chore and the other back to his sensei to go back to his training.

-One Hour Later-

Naruto and Jiraiya were back in the same spots as before, but now they had supplies that would last the two of them for at least two months, "Now that all the distractions were out of the way we can finally begin." Jiraiya got into his serious mode again, "The basis of a seal is simply the one that creates them. If you make a single mistake your storage seal will end up blowing up in your face." He gave Naruto an inkwell and a brush for starters.

"Hey Kabuki guy what about that Jutsu that that man lady put on me?" Jiraiya perked up.

"That too was a seal, but it way beyond you as of this moment. To get you on the caliber of using The Five Elements Seal we must first drill the basics into your head." Naruto looked down at the paper with a smile. Something deep inside him knew how to write it, it felt right to him to be making a Seal, "And my name is Jiraiya!" Jiraiya watched the kid copy down the Storage Seal. He was a natural at this. Sure there were a couple small mistakes, but Naruto was doing better than most Chunin would there first time creating a seal, "That Uzumaki blood is something…" The older man whispered to himself. He meant to keep that inside his head, but Naruto heard it.

Naruto paused, "What do you mean by 'That Uzumaki blood is something'?" Jiraiya now paused. He had just let something slip out that shouldn't of been said.

"Well… I wasn't supposed to say anything, but I'll tell you if you can make a Storage Seal without any mistakes." Bribery always worked best in situations such as this. Naruto on the other hand didn't know how to react to this. Jiraiya knew something about his last name and if he only had to make a Seal then he would.

Naruto looked at the seal that Jiraiya had made, then at the seal he had made. He didn't see any mistakes until he noticed that he had made a character slightly wider than what Jiraiya had written. He brought up another piece of paper then tried again. This time his character was taller, finally he got it right, "Can you tell me what you meant then?"

"Fine, fine!" Jiraiya chuckled. This was going to be a long conversation to have, "To be honest this conversation should be held when you make Chunin, but I might as well tell you now." The sun shown over the field while Jiraiya smiled sadly, "This is a story from long ago. It was back when Old Man Sarutobi still had some brown in hair, if you can believe that! Back then we were at peace, but it was an uneasy one. In a land, not too far away from The Land of Fire, there rested an island surrounded by massive whirlpools. This land, Naruto, was the homeland of your ancestors, The Uzumaki Clan!" Naruto looked in awe, "I only saw it once, but let me tell you something, it was gorgeous. Beautiful land and with it beautiful women galore!" Jiraiya chuckled perversely. Naruto looked at the Kabuki Dancer with narrowed eyes. He reevaluated what he was, "Anyways this land, Uzushiogakure, and its' people, The Uzumaki Clan, were a minor village at the time, but you can be sure they were on their way to the top.

"You see they had a talent that many didn't have. A talent in The Sealing Arts that were unrivalled by any other village, including this one." Naruto was so completely mesmerized that he had completely forgotten Jiraiya perving out, "But they weren't just a one trick pony, though. They also could take on any Shinobi or Kunoichi with their Water Style Jutsu. Back during the Second Shinobi World War I heard that they took on an army of Kumogakure's finest Lightning Style User's and sent them back with their tails between their legs."

Naruto had never heard of them before so he asked, "What happened to them?"

Jiraiya's face softened, "Well since they were so powerful they were set to be the sixth major village in this world. The other minor villages were jealous of that so they created an alliance to crush Uzushio. Amegakure, Takigakure, Kusogakure, Yugakure, and Ishigakure sent a huge army that rivalled even the Five Great Villages' forces at the time to the tiny island." The blonde didn't like where this was going, yet said nothing, "Even though their combined force was so great it took nearly a month for them to finally wipe the tiny nation off the very face of this world, but it came at a cost to them. Yugakure and Ishigakure were so drained of men and resources' that it would decades for them to rebound, in Yugakure's case they ceased being a Shinobi village entirely and became a tourist attraction. Takigakure and Kusogakure tried to war against Konoha, but it didn't last. They were both beaten and became allies more or less.

"As for Amegakure, they lasted a little while longer than most, but fell into obscurity soon enough. The remnants of your clan were scattered by the time Konoha sent out teams to find the survivors. One such survivor came to our village and damn was she a beauty. She also had a mean right hook!" Jiraiya rubbed his stomach as he remembered the time he had tried peeping on her, "She had a fiery temper and I guess that was attracted that guy." Jiraiya was so caught up in talking that he lost himself. He looked at the small boy in front of him with an almost grandfatherly gaze, "I remember this one time that that Uzumaki woman got into a fight with that Hiashi Hyuuga over her hair. She chased that poor boy across the entire village until your father attempted to stop her!" The blonde boy looked at Jiraiya. Did he know who his parents were? He decided to wait until Jiraiya had finished, "Old Man Sarutobi was so mad at your mother for taking out the entirety of the market district that he made her build all the stalls from scratch.

"Your dad helped her, but she, being too proud, kicked him away telling him, 'Get out of here you blonde haired bastard! I don't need help from some scrawny string bean that, Dattebane!' After that your dad kept trying and trying until…" Jiraiya had said too much. He had just realized that when he looked at the boy in front of him. He was no longer a Genin at that moment, but an orphan again. He had remembered all the times that he had dreamed of having a family or when bullies always reminded him of not having a family. He held back his tears, or tried to at least.

Jiraiya put his hand on Naruto's shoulder trying to comfort him. He knew he had gone too far, but he would deal with this when he went and talked to the old man, "Are there any Uzumaki left?"

"There could be. I did hear about some somewhere, but I never did hear a lot." Naruto felt more pain. Was he the last Uzumaki left alive? If so would the Uzumaki end with him? No he would never allow this! He looked up at Jiraiya in the eyes, "I know that look all too well! How about his, I'll reach out to some of my contacts around the world to see if there are any. If I find some I'll send them this way. Okay?"

"Okay…" The rest of the day was spent in silence as Naruto worked on Storage Seal after Storage Seal, and even a few Explosive tags. At the end of the day Naruto made his way home to go to bed while Jiraiya went to The Hokage's Tower.

-Sarutobi's Office-

Sarutobi looked silently at his old student. Jiraiya looked like a little kid that got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "To be honest I like how you left out how you were beaten by those beauties after they caught you peeping." Jiraiya chuckled, but was soon silenced by the massive amount of killing intent, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT YOU NEARLY DID, JIRAIYA!?"

The Toad Sannin's mouth went dry for a moment. This wasn't the first time he had felt this massive of a killing intent and it probably wouldn't be the last, but still when The God of Shinobi yelled at you, you cowered, "I was… doing my duty… as Godfather?"

"NO! YOU NEARLY LET SLIP THE SECOND MOST WELL GUARDED SECRET THAT KONOHAGAKURE HAS EVER HAD!" To say Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious would be an understatement, "DO YOU EVEN REALIZE THAT IF NARUTO, WHO I REGARD AS MY OWN GRANDSON, LET SLIP THAT WHO HIS PARENTS WERE THAT THERE WOULD BE A SHIT STORM SO GREAT THAT IT WOULD MORE THAN LIKELY START THE FOURTH SHINOBI WORLD WAR!?" The Sandaime rubbed his temples with a groan, "I'm sorry Jiraiya it's just…"

"Yea, I know Old Man, but after I told him about the Uzumaki you should have seen him!" Jiraiya perked up, "I think I'll take him on as an apprentice after the finals are over." Sarutobi got serious again. Orochimaru's invasion was more than likely to be set for that day.

He looked at the smiling Jiraiya with a heavy heart, "Jiraiya are you ready for your old teammate's attack?"

"More than ready!" That would have to do.

"I'll be calling a war council tomorrow, be there." The Hokage ordered his student.

-The Chunin Finals-

The month had been spent wisely with Naruto learning The Storage Seal, Exploding Tags, and The Chakra Blocking Jutsu from Jiraiya. From Ebisu he had learned water walking and the Jutsu known as Water Style: Gunshot Jutsu. He had enough time left over that he even learned to summon a small toad known as Gamakichi. With all of this set the newest Toad Summoner walked towards the crowded stadium with Ebisu in tow. He still had his orange jumpsuit on, but over it was a brown cloak with the large Uzumaki Clan Symbol on the back of it along with five jugs of water at his side and a large jug on his back, similar to that of Gaara of the Sand's gourd of sand.

He was now ready to fight Neji Hyuuga!


	4. Chapter 4

We finally passed the fifty mark for follows! While I know that that isn't a lot considering some fanfics have over a thousand follows this is better than some! So keep reading, following, reviewing, and favoring this fic!

Now onto more important business. To answer the one person that asked if I was going to change Naruto's outfit; I will sometime down the line, but right now I want him to keep the orange jumpsuit. Next I know that I said last chapter would be training and it turned into story time, I'm honestly sorry about that. To be honest I wanted to write a chapter for training, but that chapter just flowed right. It only took me a couple hours to write.

To be honest with those that follow this fic, I kind of guessed when it came to the numbers for Konoha's military size. I mean the Alliance had eighty thousand Shinobi and Kunoichi so I just kinda guessed at this. Don't get mad because I'm going to be trolling you guys on the fifth Hokage. For those that guess it don't say it until I post it. Just pm me and see if your right.

Finally I will be putting Shikamaru's and Shino's fights in the next chapter or two and a surprise fight. I know it's already non-canon, but this surprise fight will take it further away from canon. Also buckle up because I plan on making this chapter longer than any chapter I have done thus far.

I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 4: Fate.

With each step Naruto took another person turned their attention towards him. It was strange not seeing a hint of orange on Naruto and it was stranger still that Naruto wasn't smiling. It had been the same since Jiraiya had let slip that he knew his parents and about his clan. The day after that event Jiraiya had made a deal with him; if he was to win against Neji he would tell him a little about his mother, if he beat his next opponent Naruto would be told a little more, if he became Chunin he would be given a picture of his mother, and finally when he became Jonin he would find out who his father was. It was a horrible tactic that Jiraiya was using, but if it meant Naruto getting as strong as possible and becoming a Shinobi of great renowned then so be it.

Naruto was still making his way into the stadium, thinking on the deal he had made with Jiraiya. He was wrapped up in thinking that he failed to notice that standing near him was a cherry haired girl, "Naruto!" This certain cherry haired girl was named Sakura Haruno and she was a part of Naruto's team, Team Seven, along with Sasuke Uchiha and their Jonin Sensei, Kakashi. Naruto looked over when he heard his name with a fake smile adorning his face.

"O-Oh! Hey, Sakura!" Naruto had had a crush on her since they had both been ten, but Sakura always liked Sasuke. It weighed heavily on Naruto's heart, but he didn't dwell on it for too long.

"Where have you been?" She smiled at the blonde boy while he responded with a smirk of his own.

"Training!" He nearly shouted, "I'm definitely making Chunin today!" He was about to take off again, but was stopped by one question he didn't want to hear coming from the cherry haired girl.

"Have you seen Sasuke at all?" Naruto stopped in his tracks with a frown that Sakura couldn't see. He slowly began stepping forward again without as much as a word. Sakura, meanwhile, was more worried now about Sasuke.

-Stadium Floor-

Out on the floor Neji Hyuuga was off away from the other Chunin hopefuls trying in vain to settle down. Fate had decreed that he would make Chunin today along with silencing that fool Uzumaki. The very thought of Uzumaki trying to defy fate made him cringe. He would wipe the smug smirk off his face then make sure that he would never be able to even use an iota of Chakra after his match was over.

When he saw Naruto entering the stadium with that ridiculously sized gourd on his back he nearly chuckled. Had this fool hoped to fight him with mere tricks? The Hyuuga Clan had never been big on using Ninjutsu since the clan's Taijutsu was their major asset. Neji took this disuse of Ninjutsu one step further by regarding the whole category as only something a fool would use when he was truly desperate. Sure he knew how to use Bunshin, Kawarimi, and Henge, but you had to know those three to graduate.

Naruto also saw Neji. The two were destined to clash here in a few minutes and they both knew it. For good or ill each of their destinies would be intertwined from this day forth. Naruto thought back to this morning when he was met by Hinata Hyuuga, heiress to the Hyuuga Clan.

-Fifty Minutes Ago-

Naruto was getting pumped up as the moment for his fight drew closer and closer. He started walking down the street when he ran into a girl that he was only vaguely familiar with. Naruto had never been that close to Hinata, nor had he spoken to that much, "Naruto… p-please don't h-hurt, N-Neji…" She had her head bowed, "I-I… k-know that… N-Neji says a-all those th-things, b-but he i-is hurting b-badly!"

"Why? He hurt you and pretty much anyone that tries to fight against that fate crap is nothing, but trash!" Naruto was yelling now while Hinata's eyes were welling up with tears, "But I won't hurt him too bad." The shy girl started smiling a little, "Don't get me wrong, I'm going to kick his ass, but I won't do it too hard!" Hinata hugged Naruto tightly until she realized what she was doing. She stopped the hug, looked down, and poked her fingers together. Naruto, for his part, blushed slightly.

"G-Good l-luck…!" She walked away pretty quickly for a girl that was still recovering. Naruto kept on thinking that Hinata was strange, but pushed it away when he began walking again.

-Current Time-

The stare down between the two Genin lasted until The Hokage began to speak, "THANKS EVERYONE FOR COMING TO THE KONOHAGAKURE CHUNIN EXAM FINALS! WE WILL NOW START THE MAIN TOURNAMENT MATCHES BETWEEN THE EIGHT PARTICIPANTS WHO MADE THROUGH THE PRELIMINARIES! PLEASE STAY AND WATCH UNTIL THE END!" The Sandaime sat back down next to The Yondaime Kazekage, Sakin of the Desert. Right now there were six Genin on the stadium's floor. Shikimaru Nara, Shino Aburame, Temari of the Desert, Kankaro of the Desert, Naruto Uzumaki, and Neji Hyuuga; Gaara of the Desert and Sasuke Uchiha were missing in action at the moment.

The Hokage and The Kazekage were sitting in their chairs looking over the crowded arena, "I have to ask, Kazekage-sama, where _is_ your son?" Both the Kage sat trying to read each other.

"Unfortunately he could not make it, Hokage-sama." Sarutobi stopped himself from narrowing his eyes. This didn't seem like the Yondaime Kazekage. Anything that had to do with Gaara of the Sand the Kazekage would simply grunt or he would grimace, not say unfortunately, "I left my son to protect Sunagakure while I was here in Konohagakure."

Next to the Kazekage were four masked individuals that were identified as the Kazekage's bodyguards while on the opposite side of the booth Sarutobi was with three of his own Jonin; Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami. The Hokage began to think back to the meeting he had a couple weeks back with his top Jonin and Jonin Commander, his Anbu captains, and Jiraiya.

-Two Weeks Ago-

The room was full of tension as The Hokage sat down in front of his military staff. They hadn't been called since the Uchiha Massacre years before, "I'm sure many of you are wondering why I have called you here; the answer is war is on our doorstep yet again." Many perked up except for Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Shikaku Nara. The first two knew about the incident with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death while the latter merely figured it out inside his head, "Otogakure has made movements towards our borders just as Sunagakure has." The Jonin began to murmur, "With the death of Hayate Gekko and Orochimaru infiltrating our village just to mark Sasuke Uchiha with that damnable seal within a week of each other it puts me on edge."

Shikaku, leader of the Nara Clan and Jonin Commander, stood up from where he was sitting, "Hokage-sama, we only number around ten thousand Shinobi and Kunoichi at most eight thousand at the very least. I know that we are considered a great military power, but facing Sunagakure and Otogakure at the same time is something we might not be able to do." The Nara had always had high positions in Konoha's chain of command due to their overly developed brains. Even now Shikaku was trying to figure out a winning stratagem, "We could reach out to one of our allies for reinforcements."

"Which one? Suna has decided to turn against us, Takigakure isn't that powerful, and as for Kusogakure… well they might be able to send more than a few squads, but it would be costly." Kakashi offered, "What do you think Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya had been silently sitting in the corner thinking while Shikaku was working on a strategy, "I think that Kuso might be our only option at the moment. If that snake bastard is leading Otogakure we'll be in for a lot of trouble." Shikaku got up again with a sigh.

He looked around at the room, "We could send four squads of Anbu to the stadium, ten squads to the wall, and station a few more squads stationed around the village. We could also have the Genin and Chunin that are in the stadium help with the evacuation while the Jonin act as a vanguard." Hiruzen smiled a little when he thought of how nice it was to have a Nara as his Jonin Commander, "Now since we have Jiraiya-sama we have a way of countering Orochimaru's snakes, if he summons any. I would also advise having the Hokage Guard Platoon near you, Hokage-sama, in case of an attack by Sakin of the Desert or Orochimaru himself." He then turned his attention to Kakashi, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Might Gai, "Squads seven through ten will be assigned to the task of attacking Gaara of the Sand." That part of the plan had the Jonin squad leaders on edge, "This is a priority I would rather go do myself, but my team will be coordinating the villages' defense while also aiding in the protection of the Hokage."

Hiruzen smiled a knowing smile. It was all well and good to plan their leader's safety, but he knew his time was drawing closer with each passing day, "Thank you Shikaku. We will be holding another meeting in one week! Asuma I want you to take Kiba Inuzuka, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi to deliver a letter to the leader of Kuso requesting military aid." Asuma bowed to his father slightly then left.

With the room clearing out Jiraiya tried slinking away out with the crowd until he felt a hand on his shoulder, "What is it old man?"

"Who would you pick as the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure?" Jiraiya's eyes widened when the Sandaime, his teacher, asked him that.

"What do you mean, Sarutobi-sensei?" The old Hokage gave his student a gentle smile while said student knew what he meant. There was a comfortable silence growing, "There are five candidates for Godaime: Tsunade, Kakashi, Danzo, and myself. Danzo is definitely off the list, though, as for Kakashi; he's too wrapped up in the past, and I refuse to do it." Sarutobi looked away from his student, "Tsunade is a possibility, if we can get her out of her funk and as for the last candidate, and well he's strong. Strong enough to make the other nations fear us… yet…"

"Yet what?" Sarutobi knew perfectly well who Jiraiya was talking about, "He loves this village as much as I. He will be a perfect candidate; we just have to work out the kinks."

-Present Time-

Sarutobi smirked a little, live or die he would be hanging up the mantle of Hokage for good after this day.

-The Arena-

Down below the small group of finalists stood in a line while a purple haired woman stood in front of them. She wore Konoha's regular Jonin attire and didn't have an expression, except for a frown. This woman was Yugao Uzuki, "Today will be the final day of the Chunin Exams and we have quite the turnout today. Give the clientele a good show along with the audience!" She paused as all the Genin acknowledged this, "Neji Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki, you two stay! The rest of you go to your specified viewer box!"

Neji and Naruto stood far apart from each other without as much as a sound, "BEGIN!" The stare down continued until Neji got into his stance for Gentle Fist. As for Naruto, he took off one of the jugs from his waste and began drinking with his eyes closed, "Answer me one question, Neji: why did you do it? Why did you try to kill her!?" Naruto was pissed. He was madder than the time he thought that Sasuke was killed. Neji, for his part, was snickering.

"Why?" He answered the question with a question, "Why does a man crush a bug with their shoe? It's simply because no one wants to be bothered by them. I hate, no, I loathe that pathetic excuse for an heiress." The blonde Genin had a look of bewilderment on his face, "Your dimwitted expression tells me that you have no idea why I hate Hinata. It's simple; really, if it wasn't for her my father would still be alive. You see years ago Konoha and Kumogakure were in the middle of peace talks when in the middle of one night _she_ was kidnapped by the visiting ambassador." Yugao and Naruto could both hear bloodlust coming into his voice, "Hiashi-sama killed the ambassador. Kumo later came asking for recompense and the price was Hiashi-sama's head.

"My father was his twin brother. They had my father killed and sent in Hiashi-sama's place!" He nearly screamed. So much hate and venom filled the young Hyuuga's voice that it sent chills down the spine of some in the audience, "But what can you expect from the Main Branch of The Hyuuga clan! We, who belong to the Branch Family, are treated as dirt while they are treated as lords all because of one evil Seal!"

Naruto looked over at Neji with shock, "What seal?" How could a seal make people slaves? He wondered that, but he also wondered if he could relate to Neji when it came to being marked with a seal.

"The Hyuuga Clan's Juinjutsu!" He undid the headband from his forehead to show Naruto, "The Caged Bird Seal!" Naruto still wasn't great at seals but could see that it was one. A crude seal with malice place in every line.

"Are you two midgets going to stand around talking all day or fight?" The purple haired Jonin was clearly not amused, but she wasn't irritated either. She just wanted to see them fight already.

Naruto started moving first circling around Neji very slowly. Neji activated his Byakugan with a knowing smirk. Whatever strategy or idea that dead last had created was sure to fail. Naruto made a t-shaped hand sign, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Five exact replicas appeared with a puff of smoke. The small group of Naruto's ran back towards one tree that stood near the wall of the arena. They ran up into a spot hidden by leaves.

"Fool! Do you wish to hide and cower in a tree? I will show you how futile struggling against fate is!" Neji ran after the blonde Genin at breakneck speed, but when he got up in the tree all he saw were a small group of birds fluttering away. Neji's right eye twitched until he saw something that he almost missed, even with his Byakugan. A branch was filled with Explosive Tags very close to where he was crouching. The boy jumped away in time to see the entire tree explode, "DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT MERE TRICKS CAN BEST ME?!"

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" A multitude of Naruto's appeared out of nowhere with the full intent on fighting Neji in a full on Taijutsu battle.

-In the Stands-

Kiba Inuzuka was sitting near the middle of the crowd with his dog, Akamaru. Both looked on in complete interest at the spectacle unfolding below, "Taking a Hyuuga on in Taijutsu, Naruto? I know that you're kind of dumb, but that's simply suicide!" He failed to notice that Hinata had sat down beside him quietly.

"K-Kiba how is N-Naruto?" She asked quietly and with a small tinge of embarrassment. It was no small secret that the young heiress had a huge crush on Naruto so Kiba didn't want to worry her too much.

"He's actually planning something, I think?" Kiba looked down at the battle again just in time to notice that the birds he had seen in flying out of the tree were perched near the fight watching as Neji hit one clone after another without much effort, "I don't know how he's doing it, but it seems that Naruto is the one in charge of the fight so far." Hinata cheered up a little more after hearing that.

-Another Part of the Stands-

Sakura was sitting with Ino Yamanaka wondering why Naruto had just walked away from her earlier. She frowned at that and the fact that Sasuke was still gone, "Ino where do you think Sasuke is?" Ino merely chuckled then followed it up with a slap to the back of Sakura's head, "OW!"

"Don't worry about Sasuke; I'm sure he'll make it here in time! Just worry about cheering on Naruto!" Ino told the cherry haired girl with a smile.

"Yea, you're right!"

-The Arena-

One Naruto tried kicking Neji in the head while a few others followed, another group tried punching, but all were thrown back when the Branch Family member started spinning at great speeds, "Gentle Fist's ultimate defense, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: PALM ROTATION!" All the remaining Naruto clones popped out of existence leaving a cloud of Chakra behind. All, but one of the birds transformed back into Naruto with a foxy smile. They took a big swig from one of the jugs of water then went through a series of hand signs.

"Water Style: Gunshot Jutsu!" Four high powered streams of water shot from the mouths of the blondes' right at Neji. For his part, the young Hyuuga began his ultimate defense again, but he failed to notice that another Naruto had snuck up close to him. The group of clones stopped their tirade of Jutsu just in time to see that the defense had ended. Naruto ran at Neji quickly with a seal in hand. The seal was The Chakra Block Seal that would, undoubtedly, end the match.

"Trying another trick, Uzumaki?" Naruto stopped dead in his track as Neji turned around and stood with his hands at his sides, "You're in my range… EIGHT TRIGRAMS: ONE-HUNDRED AND EIGHT PALMS!" Neji charged at blinding speed at Naruto until, "TWO PALMS, FOUR PALMS, EIGHT PALMS, SIXTEEN PALMS, THIRTY TWO PALMS, SIXTY FOUR PALMS, ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT PALMS!" Naruto could only stand and take the brutal attack that hit every point of Chakra on his body. The blonde fell down on the ground with his eyes wide open, "It's over…"

-End-


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry about cutting the fight of too soon, but I wanted to Troll you guys. Anyways the real reason is I wanted to test out well I could do a cliffhanger. I got mixed results so I will, more than likely, not be doing anymore cliffhangers with the fights.

Sorry about the hiatus, but Fanfiction, while fun, does not pay the bills. Plus some personal problems, Mass Effect, my friends, and hitting on hotties (Failed most of the time) really diverted my attention. Also if you haven't seen Summer Wars go and watch it after reading this.

Anyways I've come to the conclusion that the internet is full of trolls and spiteful people. You guys are cool, though. Also I know this might offend some of my readers, but other than Pokemon and Parodies self-insert original characters grind my gears worse than most things. They only work somewhat well in Pokemon fanfiction, but other than that they really are annoying. OC characters are all well and fine, but when you try to put yourself in the story it just seems… meh…

I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 5: Drag out Brawl.

Naruto was lying down on the ground wide eyed from the attack. His whole body hurt, it hurt so much that he began shaking from the pain, but he tried moving nonetheless, '_Are you really going to let this stuck up bastard win, Naruto?_' Naruto looked around, he could hear Jiraiya, but he couldn't see him, '_I thought you trained harder than this! It's time you use that beast's Chakra!'_

"I know I have to, but I can't use it!" The blonde Genin struggled to his feet. Neji was walking away from the boy thinking he had won. He turned around to see Naruto standing up again, '_It's okay, Naruto, use it and you can use your Chakra again! Kick that kid's ass!_' Slowly Naruto started concentrating on his Tenketsu Points.

-One Week Ago-

"Those of the Hyuuga Clan can cut off their opponents Chakra by using their Gentle Fist Style to close their opponents Tenketsu Points. If that happens to you, you'll lose right now." Jiraiya, Ebisu, and Naruto were sitting at Ichiraku's going over strategy after another day of hard work, "There's only one way to open up your Tenketsu Points after getting hit by a Gentle Fist Style attack. You _will_ have to use that beast."

Naruto and Ebisu nearly choked on their ramen. Was the older man really suggesting that Naruto use The Kyuubi's Chakra? The closet pervert merely let his chopsticks fall into the broth, "Excuse me for saying this, Jiraiya-sama, but are you a fool?"

Jiraiya simply pouted at the younger Tokubetsu Jonin. A lot of people called him a fool and it always irritated him to no end. He was one of the Sannin and a Seal Master for god's sake! Naruto on the other hand felt butterflies in his stomach at the very thought of using The Kyuubi. The last time he had used that beast's Chakra he'd felt so much hatred and a burning desire to destroy and kill. The thought of using that Chakra again truly did terrify him, "No… I won't…" He was so scared he could only squeak out a few words. Then like a flame that had just been fed kindling, "I REFUSE TO USE THAT BEAST! I NEARLY KILLED SOMEONE WHEN I DID!"

"I know that, Naruto. Old man Sarutobi told me about it, but you have to realize that even though it seems like a curse, it's your heritage, your lineage, and your birthright all rolled into one big seal on _your_ stomach, Naruto!" Jiraiya felt like banging his head against the wall. Every time he would mention using the Kyuubi's Chakra Naruto would ignore it or sometimes, like now, throw a fit, "Alright, Naruto, but I'll have you know the other Uzumaki that used the Kyuubi didn't complain!" Naruto looked up from his ramen with a look of wonderment.

Ebisu did his best to look like a fish out of water as soon as he heard that there were other Uzumaki that held the Kyuubi, "What do you mean by _other_ Uzumaki?" The sunglasses wearing man was totally curious at this.

"Yea! What do you mean?" The quick turnaround with Naruto made Jiraiya smile. He hated seeing the brat sad, "There were other containers before me?"

Jiraiya put on a big smile, "Of course there were and they were only Uzumaki!" The Ichiraku's had made their way from the kitchen with the final batch of ramen that night when they heard Jiraiya.

"Can we hear this, Jiraiya-sama?" Ayami asked. This was turning into a regular old story time by now.

Teuchi looked on at the older man. He was more curious about this than many here. He had been like an uncle to Naruto ever since the boy had wandered into the shop with Iruka, "I'm going to close shop, but you can stay and tell this tale." He constantly worried over the blonde Genin's welfare whenever the boy was gone. The thing about Naruto was that there were many mysteries surrounding him, if he could hear at least one he would be happy.

"Alright since you all want to hear this we have to go back six hundred years ago when the Senju and Uzumaki were still one family. You see there were two brothers that ran the clan back then. One was serious and quiet while the other one was rowdy and loud. Both always had different ways of running things, but they made it work until one day… one day…" Jiraiya paused then looked at Naruto with weird look.

"One day what?" Naruto asked.

"One day the brothers had gotten into an argument and your ancestor came up with the idea to settle the argument with a… a… drinking contest." He paused as he rubbed his temples, "Why do the Uzumaki always have to cause trouble?" Jiraiya asked himself quietly, "No one remembers what the exact outcome of the drinking contest was, but somehow the Uzumaki said they won while the Senju called it a tie. After that your ancestor pulled out at least a third of the clan, over two hundred people with him over a drinking contest…" Everybody and anybody could agree that this was something they could see the blonde brat pulling, "With the great split the Uzumaki went to an island off the coast of Fire Country and practiced Sealing Jutsu while the Senju continued their warfare with the surrounding clans.

"As we all know after a long time Hashirama Senju came together with Madara Uchiha to found our great village with many, many clans coming to join us. When Hashirama was elected Hokage, however, Madara went into a rage and ran away from the village becoming the world's first Missing Nin. To continue his outreach for clans Hashirama went and found Uzushiogakure and met with the Uzukage, Harada Uzumaki.

"Unlike his ancestors Harada was more serious, but decked Hashirama anyways in remembrance of the fated drinking conte-" The sound of a match being lit interrupted Jiraiya from going any further in his tale. The others within the small group looked nervously back behind Jiraiya, "Good evening, Old man…"

The old Hokage took a long drag from his pipe. The smell of tobacco filling the small shop, "It was actually Mito-sama that Hashirama-sensei for being a sore loser. There was a saying in my time that stands true even today, 'If you piss off an Uzumaki prepare for hell on earth!'" The Hokage took another drag from his pipe as he mused over those bygone days, "My father and the rest of the Sarutobi Clan would rather fight the entire Shinobi force of The Senju and The Uchiha then fight a few pissed of Uzumaki, but I digress. That woman would completely blow Tsunade-hime completely out of the water when it came to the temper department.

"As I recall it was love at first punch from the way Tobirama-sensei explained it. As our Shodaime worked out a treaty with Uzushiogakure, he and Mito would occasionally spar." Naruto was completely mesmerized by the story. He was so into the story that everything else didn't seem to matter, "To be more honest Hashirama-sensei's and Mito-sama's spars were more like full scale wars. His Mokuton Jutsu was devastating, but Mito could go blow for blow with her Chakra Chains and Sealing Jutsu! I remember this one spar the two had after they had come back where they single handedly destroyed the area known as Training Ground Forty-Four." Everyone knew that The Forty-Fourth Training Ground was known as The Forest of Death.

"Anyways back to the main point. When the two finally worked out the kinks of their relationship Hashirama-sensei and Mito-sama were wed here in Konoha, but the ceremony was anything, but boring. I remember it like it was yesterday. Madara Uchiha came riding atop the Kyuubi in a grand fashion and demanded a fight to settle the seat for Hokage once and for all. Hashirama-sensei ordered everyone to evacuate while he and Mito-sama fought one the greatest battles this world has ever seen. So great was their battle it reshaped a flat plain into a valley while the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune was locked inside Mito-sama.

"Mito-sama didn't use the Kyuubi much, but when she did was a devastating force." The way Hiruzen portrayed Mito it seemed as though she was on par with Hashirama Senju, his brother, and Madara Uchiha. Naruto was completely smiling now, "Then when she was at the end of her life she passed the torch, so to speak, to your mother, Naruto. She was the strongest Kunoichi of her generation!" He knew he was going against what he said about not telling Naruto about his parents, but to see his pseudo-grandson's face light up was worth it, "Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was so strong she earned herself an S-Rank in the bingo books! I remember this one time during the Third Shinobi World War she and her squad were pinned down deep in Kumogakure with at least a hundred Kumo Shinobi and Kunoichi surrounding them. Your father was at another front and I was leading an assault against one of Kirigakure's strongholds.

"She used her Chakra Chains and The Kyuubi Chakra to not only wipe out half of her enemies while the she kept the other half off her group's trail while they retreated back to one of our fortresses!" Naruto didn't realize he was crying until he was hugged by Ayame, "The point of this story is so that you, Naruto, know that the Kyuubi's Chakra is a tool for you to use! Use it and you will undoubtedly win against Neji!"

It was now Jiraiya's time to smile, "Tomorrow we will begin working you into the ground training in Toad Summoning!"

-Present Time-

"Fate… this…" Naruto took in a deep breath, "Fate… that…" The blonde boy breathed out, "It's all a damn excuse to make you feel better!" What Neji saw as Naruto released his Tenketsu Points was that of a giant demon fox. He took a step back, "Poor me, poor me, pour me a drink you bastard! You hide behind fate and destiny because it's convenient for! Even hurting Hinata because of your stupid beliefs!" The blonde started running as fast as he could with his right hand cocked back into a fist.

Neji grit his teeth in defiance of the younger Genin, "DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DO!?" Neji finally lost his cool completely towards the wannabe Hokage, "I WILL NOW DEMONSTRATE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DEFY FATE!"

The two collided with a flurry of punches. Most of Naruto's punches landed on Neji's body, but some were blocked along with Neji's own precise strikes against his body. One of the Genin would hit the other in the chest while the other would strike back at their stomach.

-In the Stands-

Hiashi Hyuuga sat with a few of his clansmen near the nobles. He was a man of little emotion and even littler pity. He looked on as his nephew was beating the Uzumaki while getting beaten in return. It shocked him how strong both Genin were. They were easily Chunin level and this fight was one of the better ones that he had seen in a long time. He narrowed his eyes at the Uzumaki. He would be a fool not to know of clan. He was surprised, though, that the Uzumaki had not used any Sealing Techniques, "This battle has turned into nothing more than a contest of endurance. I cannot see any hope for Neji, though." He paused while his clansmen activated their Byakugan to peer at both fighters, "It seems as though the Uzumaki has a few tricks up his sleeve yet."

-The Arena-

It was true that Naruto had a few tricks up his sleeve, but at the moment he couldn't seem to move from his spot. The ruthlessness of this battle was escalating with each punch. Naruto was sure that he had a broken nose and a couple cracked ribs. His mind wandered to his Chakra Block Seals on his belt; if he could just reach them he would be able to end this quickly.

Neji on the other hand was beginning to wear down, but he would never let this fool win. Fate had deemed it his win today! He would make Chunin and finally show those stuck relatives known as the Main Branch that he was better than them. A true genius! His father would finally rest in peace.

-The Stands-

Sakura and Ino were staring at Naruto in a new light. He had been the dead last of their class, but here he was going head to head with last year's Rookie of the Year, "Hey, Ino, how strong are you?" It was true that after the whole Wave country incident Sakura hadn't trained that much other than the few warm ups Team Seven did before they started doing D-Rank missions, "What did you learn from your Sensei?"

Ino thought for a second, "Well, I learned a basic Medic Jutsu along with a few more techniques from my clan, but other than that we've been working on Ino-Shika-Cho combination techniques!" Sakura felt overwhelmed by how little she knew. Sasuke and Naruto, even Ino, had put a large distance between them and her when it came to her training. It hurt that she was still dawdling in the background while the others began to surpass her in terms of being a ninja, "Why?"

"It's nothing, Ino, just nothing…" She would become stronger; she had to become stronger if she wanted to keep up with the others in her generation.

In another part of the stands another Hyuuga watching, but, unlike Hiashi, Hinata was way more worried about Naruto. She gripped the edges of her coat so tightly her knuckles were turning white. As for Kiba, he was so busy watching that he didn't even blink. Hinata was nearly in tears because of how bad Naruto was getting hurt.

-The Arena-

Naruto jumped back away from the slugfest and pulled out a simple piece of paper. It still was a marvel to Naruto of what this simple piece of paper and some ink could do, "Now, Neji, I will show you what an Uzumaki is capable of!" Naruto ran towards Neji while simultaneously creating three clones to keep up his attack while he prepared to attach the seal.

Neji struck the nearest clone with a Juken strike to the clones' heart. He tried doing that to dispel the other two, but they actually gave him a fair bit of trouble. The real Naruto ran at full speed behind Neji with his seal in his hand, "Too late, Uzumaki!" Neji left the other two clones behind and snatched the seal away from Naruto's hand, "A seal? Such a disgusting and cowardly item! Only a fool would study such nonsense!"

Naruto grit his teeth hard, "Take that back… NOW! Sealing isn't disgusting or cowardly! It isn't nonsense either! They are my heritage!"

Neji chuckled at that statement, "An orphan has no heritage!"

"I am a surviving member of the Uzumaki Clan of Uzushiogakure! I maybe an orphan, but I have a heritage! We Uzumaki are experts at Seals and we survived an onslaught from Kusogakure, Takigakure, Amegakure, Yugakure, and Ishigakure while destroying them!" Naruto inhaled deeply, "MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI OF THE UZUMAKI CLAN AND NEJI HYUUGA OF THE HYUUGA CLAN HAVE BEEN BEAT! **KAI!**" Neji's eyes widened as he realized that he was still holding the Chakra Block Seal. While Neji was in shock the two clones he had left behind him both punched him in the back at the same time knocking him to the ground.

"WINNER: NARUTO UZUMAKI!" The crowd went wild for Naruto with applause, whistles, and even a scream, from Hinata. Yugao Uzuki was supposed to be neutral in her judging, but she was glad the blonde boy had won.

The original Naruto was barely standing from the beating he had taken earlier, "Who's the failure now? Bastard…" Naruto tried to limp back to the competitor box, but fell down on the ground next to Neji.

Neji moved his head to the side so he could face Naruto, "I really do hate you, Uzumaki! So fate was on your side…"

The blonde Genin just laughed at the other boy, "Fate? No I just worked my ass the past month! I worked myself to the point of exhaustion some days, but it was worth it. I can't wait to see who I fight next round…" Naruto fell asleep quietly along with Neji.

"You're such a slouch Naruto!" Ebisu appeared out of nowhere with a big smile, "Time for a nap!" The Tokubetsu Jonin slung Naruto over his shoulder then used the Body Flicker Jutsu to poof into the competitor box.

"NEXT UP: SHINO ABURAME VS KANKURO OF THE DESERT!"

-End-


End file.
